The Chronicles of Team JADF: Volume 0-Before Beacon
by SassMaster9001
Summary: Taking place during the color trailers, this is the origins of team JADF, a team from an alternate universe of the main series. Follow Jade, Amber, Doli, and Fawn on their adventures before they go to Beacon...
1. Chapter 1: Jade and Ruby

_Something to know before you start: this is my first fanfic. I'm just going to that get out of the way. I would appreciate feedback._

 **The JADF Chronicles-Volume 0:**

 ** _Green, Orange, Blue, and Pink_**

 _Chapter 1:_

 _Jade and Ruby_

 **JADE**

"Ruby Rose has it rough. I can vouch for that. I'm one of her closest friends. The two of us go back. The thing is, she's two years younger than me. Because of that, before I end up going to Beacon, I decided to accompany her to her mother's grave. Ruby doesn't really talk much about her, but I've heard that she was an amazing huntress. I wish that I could have met her, but you can't do anything about being dead. As I stood there watching Ruby, I realized that she's almost a different person when she "speaks" to her mother. Her crimson hood covers her face, and she keeps her head down, mourning, but also finding peace. Sometimes I wonder if she is one of the "loneliest of all" that that one song talks about, but I feel like that can't be true. She's got me and Yang, her sister, and plenty of other people that care about her.

"After she finished paying her respects, Ruby turned around and started on the path home, telling me that she was ready to go. We started our long trek through the forest. As we did, we heard rustling in the bushes all around us. We both knew what it was. Grimm. More specifically, Beowolves. They had surrounded the both of us. Just as they began to lunge at Ruby, she disappeared. She had used her speed to dodge the attack. At that moment, she was gracefully gliding in midair. Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose, her personalized scythe-sniper rifle combination of a weapon, and I pulled out my sword. Ruby shot at the first Grimm to approach her. I slashed through three at once. Because of our attacks, we had given ourselves a little space. After she landed, Ruby glanced back at me. I got the message, almost as if we can read each other's thoughts."

"As she started to do her own thing, I swung my sword back and forth, pulling the trigger on the hilt of the sword in a sort of rhythm. The slots in my blade flashed in sync with the rhythm, firing bullets at the Grimm. More had fallen. With even more space between the remaining Grimm, I thought that it was time to make things more interesting. I started to run, letting the Beowolves chase me. While I was running, I returned my sword to its sheath on my back and started to punch in a code on the computer on the back if my glove. After I punched the code in, I reached behind me and tapped the gem on the hilt. I yanked the sword and sheath from my side and held the handle with both hands as it quickly became a scythe, more specifically Ruby's Crescent Rose, except that it didn't fit the name anymore. This one was the color scheme of my weapon, green and black. Not only that, but the gem and computer from my weapon had moved to accommodate to the shape of the weapon. I quickly slid and turned around to face the Grimm, readying the weapon as Ruby would. I swiftly spun the scythe, cutting up Grimm left and right. I plowed through the monsters like it was nothing, mimicking Ruby's skills with my own flair."

"Eventually, after taking down more and more Grimm, I ended back up with Ruby in the midst of all the chaos. We were back to back once again. 'Let's go! Roses and Thorns!' I yelled to her. Knowing what that meant, she smirked as she reloaded and grabbed my arm. I closed my eyes and focused. When I opened them, they were silver, like Ruby's, instead of their usual green, for I had copied her speed semblance. I nodded to her, and we started running in circles as fast as we could. We were practically a tornado, with our scythes slashing and and our sniper rifles shooting. We were controlled chaos. After decimating all of the Grimm with that attack, the two of us stood there, catching our breath."

"'You did great out there,' I said after a while."

"'Thanks! You were amazing, too!' Ruby replied. I smiled, taking her praise. I'm used to it from her. Ruby loves all kinds of weapons and fighting, and she probably wouldn't be able to find a better embodiment of that kind of stuff than me and my powers. It's not the main reason why we became friends, but it was something that we have in common. After a quick breather following that intense fight, we moved on to our destination: home."

"Wow, Jade!" Doli finally said. "What a story! It's just as awesome as the tales you used to tell me when we were younger." Jade smiled. When they were kids, he loved to tell his sister all about the endeavors of heroes from his imagination, mostly because she was the only one that listened to them. The difference between those fairy tales and the one he had just told her was that this one was true. He truly did know a girl named Ruby Rose that fought alongside him in a forest. In fact, Doli had just met Ruby the day before when Jade had been saying his goodbyes to her. Now, they were just at a cafe catching up on things. Doli sat back in her chair. "So, do you got any other amazing adventures that you've been on since I've been gone?" Jade thought about telling her about the other people that he met recently, but decided against it. Instead, he stood up and stretched. "There are more, but let's save them for another day. It's getting late, and I need to get packing to go to Beacon." Doli gave a sigh of disappointment. "All right then." They paid the bill for their food and left for Jade's hotel room.

As they were walking, Jade turned to Doli. "Oh! I almost forgot to give this to you!" He pulled out a small pendant out of his pocket. It had an aqua-colored gem in the center of it, her favorite color. "I've been making these for my friends. Legend has it that these form a special bond between the people that they are given to and the one that makes and gives them. I've been giving these to Ruby and other people that I've befriended, but I've been saving this one for you." Doli took the pendant and looked at it. "It's beautiful," she said. "I love it." Jade smiled. "I guess that's a benefit of being my little sis. You get an awesome brother." Doli smiled back and hugged him. The two siblings continued on to their destination, ready to get some rest for the coming day...

 _Here's Jade's profile. I'm planning on doing one for each member of team JADF as they are properly introduced._

Jade Loden-

Age: 17

Main Color: Green (Jade)

Eye Color: Green

Handedness: Right

Hair: Dirty Blonde, short and curly

Defining Clothing Item(s): A "Hoodie Jacket", his Green Pendant, A Fingerless Glove on his left hand (Which he inputs the codes in for his weapon)

Good Points of Reference: Link (Legend of Zelda, for weapon style), Soma (God Eater, for clothing), Sora (Kingdom Hearts, for clothing)

Overall Theme: Sci-Fi

Biography: A soon-to-be member of team JADF, and an acquaintance of Ruby, Yang, and some other people. He is heir to the Rainbow Gem, which he has incorporated into his weapon. His sister has mysteriously reappeared after running away many years ago. Despite his shyness, he is great at making friends. Maybe it's because of the beautiful and mysterious pendants he makes and gives to the people he befriends.

Weapon: A sword that also has a firing mechanism in the blade part. It can copy other people's weapons using the Rainbow Gem, his family heirloom that grants different abilities depending on the person. Though this is usually only achieved by being near the weapon in question, Jade has found ways around this. He created a sheath for the sword that he keeps on his back. It has a computer in it, which saves weapons as code to its database and can transform along with the sword. He inputs the code on the back of a glove on his left hand.

Semblance: Jade can copy the semblances of others, though it does have its limits. Semblances can only be copied through touch after Jade has previously witnessed the semblance in use, and he cannot copy certain semblances that are tied to something specific (like Weiss's Summoning Ability). Those that he can copy, however, remain within him. His eye color also changes to the color of the person he is copying while he is using his/her semblance.

 _Anything not specified, including names of items, can be left to the imagination_.

 _ **Chapter 1 Trivia** :_

 _-Like the original "Red Trailer," this chapter was mostly made to be a weapon demonstration (as the RWBY wiki says), though Jade and Ruby act a little more in character in this version, and it is instead a retelling by Jade to Doli._

 _-The main reason for this chapter is when Jade is retelling the story rather than it taking place as the action unfolds is because I originally wanted the story to be in the first person perspective of each character. I later realized that it wasn't working as I planned, so I decided to write it in third person (Like The Heroes of Olympus series), switching between perspectives of the four members of team JADF, and possibly beyond them if it gets to that point._

 _-Jade has yet to come up with a name for his weapon, both due to its ever-changing nature, and simply because he doesn't know what to call it. (That may or may not be my fault, too._ ;) _)_


	2. Chapter 2: Amber and Blake Part 1

_Chapter 2:_

 _Amber and Blake Part 1: The Mercenary_

 **AMBER**

It was a typical mission for Amber. Find the target, kill it, get paid. This target was a special one, though. It was a Faunus, one who had been involved in a train heist a couple days ago. Amber's boss had given her this mission because she knew how much Amber hated Faunus. They had taken everything from her. She always sought missions to hunt them for revenge. This Faunus was her next victim. The thing was, she couldn't find her. She had been searching for a girl with cat ears, just as her boss had told her. The thing was, Amber didn't see any girls with cat ears. The only thing she had found was this boy. He was around her age and had a black hoodie jacket with green lining, along with what seemed to be a sheathed sword on his back. And he was annoying her. He had been asking her questions nonstop for the past ten minutes. "So, what are you doing here?" he asked Amber. Amber sighed. "It's none of your business. Why are you even talking to me anyways? I don't even know your name." The boy shrugged. "I guess that I'm just trying to calm down. I'm on my way to apply for Beacon. It's not going to be easy, and the name's Jade, Jade Loden."

"Good," Amber thought, "Now I know who to NOT run into next time I'm around here." Suddenly, Jade's scroll went off. He pulled it out and checked it. "Woah! Maybe it's not as hard as it looks! This one girl just got in, and she doesn't seem to have any past experience at all. It's all over social media. There's a picture here. Wanna see?" Amber rolled her eyes. "I guess I don't have anything better to do." When she looked, her eyes widened. She didn't know if Jade realized it, but this girl was definitely the target that she was looking for. To think, the Faunus had only hidden her true identity with a black bow over her cat ears! "Her name is Blake Belladonna," Jade added.

"Hey, uh, Jade, wasn't it. I think that I know what I'm doing now. Can I go with you to the registration for Beacon?" It was Jade's turn to be surprised. "Okay, I guess." Jade now had a suspicious look on his face. Amber's heart dropped. Had she let on a little too much? Fortunately for Amber, Jade's expression quickly changed into a smirk. "Alright then, let's go." The two headed over to the registration.

"Hey! There she is!" Jade said. He pointed Belladonna out to Amber. She was the one. Amber reached for her pistols, but quickly pulled her hands away when Jade approached the target. "What is he doing?!" Amber screamed in her head. She followed the boy, gritting her teeth as she walked. "Hey there! Are you Blake Belladonna?" The girl turned to Jade with a confused look on her face. "...Yeah. What do you want?" Blake replied. Jade smiled. "I just wanted to congratulate you for making it into Beacon."

"Why did you take the time to just come and congratulate someone you don't know? I don't have any friends..." Jade's smiled even more as he produced a black pendant from his pocket. In the center of it, there was a dark gem, perfectly cut. "Well, I'm here to change that. My name's Jade, and I'll be your friend." He gave the pendant to the Faunus. Belladonna seemed touched by the gift. "Did you make this yourself?" the girl asked.

"Yeah. I've been told that these things form a bond between the person that makes them and the people he or she give them to. You looked like you needed a friend." Belladonna smiled. "That's very thoughtful of you. Thank you." Jade smiled back and turned to Amber. "Do you have anything to say, Amber?"

Amber stood there, staring blankly at Belladonna. How could she kill this Faunus after all that? She shook her head. She had a job to do. She couldn't just let her emotions interfere. Amber looked at Jade. "Yes, I do have something to say." She swiftly pulled out her pistols and prepared herself to shoot Belladonna. "Die!" She took her shot, hitting the Faunus directly in the head. As the Faunus fell back she disappeared. Amber didn't even have enough time to react to the sheath of Belladonna's weapon hitting her face. The impact was so hard that it knocked off Amber's hat off. Amber staggered and righted herself. Belladonna lunged right for Amber. It was Amber's turn for a counterattack. She closed her eyes and focused. Time had slowed for her when she opened her eyes. Belladonna was moving in slow motion towards her. Amber smirked. She flicked one of her pistols, transforming it into a knife. She fired the other pistol at Belladonna's head and transformed the into a knife. She ran behind Belladonna. When the bullet hit, Amber slashed her many times from behind. Unable to take the pain from all the attacks at once, Belladonna fell to the ground. Too easy.

While the Faunus writhed in pain, Amber strolled up to front of her, pointing one of her pistols to Belladonna's head. "Well then, Belladonna. I thought that you'd be more of a challenge than that, you filthy Faunus. Oh, well. Any last words?" The Faunus groaned. Amber smirked. "Heh. Thought so."

Last time Amber checked, Jade was not in front of her when she had pulled the trigger. He also definitely did not have silver eyes. The next second, Amber's pistol was flying from her hands, thanks to the punch Jade had thrown with the gauntlets he had mysteriously acquired. He was moving at lightning speed. The next punch was to Amber's face, knocking her to the ground. "It's not nice being down on the ground, is it," Jade remarked. "I also don't think that it's nice to kill people just because they're a Faunus." Jade tapped a gem on the back of one of the gauntlets, and they turned into a pair of pistols. Amber's pistols. "How...the heck...did you do that?" she groaned.

"What? Suddenly appearing in front of you? Having my sword transform into other weapons?" Jade smirked and leaned closer to Amber's face. "I can copy things. It's kinda my thing." Suddenly, Jade's face was blasted by Amber's duel pistols. Amber had taken advantage of Jade's change of position. As Jade teetered backward from the blast Amber picked herself off the ground. "Well, it's going to take a lot more than that, copycat." Jade, with a face void of the smile he had just minutes before, punched the gem on one of the guns. The pistols glowed and reformed, taking the shape of a sword, more specifically, the one that Amber had seen sheathed on his back earlier, and the sheath, now returned to his back. Jade slashed out at Amber, who simply hopped back and used her semblance. Once again, time slowed for her. She attempted to run behind Jade, but was knocked backward by Jade's sword. Amber staggered back, confused. "That's not going to work on me," Jade remarked. He was moving at the same speed as Amber. "He's using that speed semblance to counter my focus one!" Amber thought. Jade swung out at Amber, who quickly switched her pistols to knives, just in time to lock blades with the sword. The mercenary and the copier stood there, blades crossed. After a few seconds, Amber stopped locking blades and jumped back, ready for another attack. The two continued striking at each other, never landing a truly fatal blow. After what felt like forever for the two of them, Jade gasped for air and slowed back down with everything else. He must have been so exhausted that he temporarily turned of his semblance. Amber shot him down, making him collapse. She shot Jade multiple times, to the point that Jade would be either dead, or his aura would at least be depleted. He laid with his eyes closed. The fight seemed to be over, and it only took a couple minutes. She walked up to Jade. "Nice try, copycat, but I've fought harder people. You've failed. You're beaten. You're done for."

"Who said that I was done for?" Jade replied calmly. With a smile, he opened his eyes, now a red color. "I just needed a little bit of rest." Amber gasped. She started shooting him more, vainly hoping for a different outcome from this problem. Taking all the shots, Jade simply got up and input a code on his left glove and tapped the gem on his sword. The sword transformed into the pair of gauntlets from earlier. His dirty blonde hair was now glowing gold. "What are you?" Amber asked. Jade smirked. "You said it yourself...I'm a copycat." The last thing Amber remembered was Jade's fist flying towards her face...

 _ **Chapter 2 Trivia** :_

 _-Like the previous chapter with the "Red Trailer", this chapter was originally supposed to take place during or right after one of the trailers (the "Black Trailer.")_

 _-Amber was either supposed to jump on the train and fight both Blake and Adam, or fight Blake after she had run off from the train. This is mainly due to the fact that it seemed very unlikely that Amber (and eventually Jade) would have been notified of their whereabouts so easily._

 _-Jade's initial role, however, stayed the same for the most part. His role was always to prevent Amber from either capturing or killing Blake, though his means of preventing her originally was vastly different. He was simply supposed to come out of nowhere (without the introduction that the final version has), disarm Amber and keep her conscious before doing what he is going to do next._

 _-Jade's sword is able to copy other weapons that are not in his database if they are nearby, as evidenced by this fight. He does need to initiate a save state for the weapon in order to access it later, however._

 _-Jade's sword can also copy weapons while unsheathed. However, he needs to sheath it if it is either a larger weapon (like Crescent Rose), one that he is accessing from his database, and/or one that is split into multiple parts (like Amber's pistols)._

 _-Jade is in fact copying Yang's semblance and her gauntlets. More on that later._


	3. Chapter 3: Amber and Blake Part 2

_Chapter 3:_

 _Amber and Blake Part 2: The Faunus and The Fighter_

 **JADE**

A shockwave sounded throughout the area as Jade punched Amber. The mercenary slammed to the ground, much more violently than the last time, leaving a small crater where she laid. In such a short time, the fight was truly over. Amber's hat flew by in the wind. Jade snatched it out of the air, put it on, and strolled up to Amber, returning his weapon to its original form and sheathing it. He kneeled next to her and placed his hand on her wrist. "She still has a pulse...good. Her aura can fix the rest." Jade held on to her wrist for a little longer and closed his eyes. He felt a replication of Amber's own power surge into him. "What are you doing?" a voice called behind him. Jade turned around. It was Blake. "Oh, Hey. I'm just copying her semblance." The Faunus girl looked even more confused than before she asked the question. Jade smiled as he got back up. "I know what you're thinking. No, I'm not some 'super fighting robot' out to become the perfect life form. I'm just a normal dude who has the ability to copy semblances and made a sword to complement that. I'm on your side." Blake sighed. "Well that's a relief. I didn't think that I'd find someone as friendly as you."

"I can kinda see why. It's hard living in this world as a...you know." Jade pointed to his head where Blake's cat ears would be on hers. Blake looked to the ground. "So you know about that."

"Well, Amber mentioned that during the fight, and I put the pieces together from there."

"You won't tell anyone, right?" The Faunus asked. Jade nodded. "I will, and I'll make sure that Miss Mercenary here won't either."

"She's a mercenary?!"

"Yeah. I did a little research while you two were fighting. Apparently she hates Faunus because the White Fang killed her parents when she was younger, so there's her motivation for hating and hunting Faunus."

"Yeah, but that doesn't justify doing it," the cat Faunus said gruffly.

"I wasn't saying that."

"Well, it sure sounded like it."

"Hey! I already told you that I'm on your side. Not all humans hate Faunus. I think of you guys as equals. You didn't choose to be born that way."

Blake looked to the ground. "Sorry. I just have a hard time trusting humans. You're a lot kinder than the others."

"I get that a lot," Jade said with a smile. "I think that it's because I don't judge people based solely on their heritage. I don't want to make enemies if I don't have to. I just want to make friends with people that need somebody to talk to. That's why I came to meet you...I felt like you were someone who was like that. There's not a lot of people in the world that do that; I might as well be one of the few."

"Wow...thanks."

"Anyways, I wish that we could discuss more of this, but you need to get going."

"Why do you say that?"

"The thing is, Miss Mercenary here is going to wake up soon, and judging by the beat down I gave her, she's not going to be happy. I'm going to take care of her, maybe do some 'persuasion' to get her to change her ways. I don't think that'll be hard," Jade said as he snatched up Amber's pistols, "But I think that it would be best if you stay out of this. It's not that I don't think that you would be able to handle yourself. It's just that the authorities will also be here soon, and I don't think that you'd want to be involved in that."

"Will I see you again?" the Faunus asked. Jade grinned and tipped Amber's hat to her. "If I get out of this okay, I'll most likely make it into Beacon. I'll see you there." Blake smiled. "Then I guess that this is goodbye for now."

"Yeah, I guess."

The Faunus started to head off, but stopped after a few steps and turned back towards Jade. "Thank you for accepting me for who I am, not for what I was born as. Thank you...for being my friend." Jade grinned even bigger. "It's my pleasure. See you soon." The Faunus smiled back and went on her way, disappearing into the city.

"Mr. Loden, we were expecting you to be auditioning at Beacon, not fighting crime in the city." Jade turned around to see a silver-haired man walking towards him, with an annoyed woman by his side. Jade recognized both of them. "Headmaster Ozpin...I already like where this is going..."

 _ **Chapter 3 Trivia** :_

 _-This volume was supposed to only have four chapters, one for each member of team JADF. Guess that's not happening._

 _-Following after what Chapter 2's trivia said, this was supposed to be a three-way conversation between Jade, Blake, and Amber, who would be disarmed._

 _-Though it may be unclear, Jade got his information from the internet (or whatever Remnant's equivalent is.)_


	4. Chapter 4: Amber and Blake Part 3

_Chapter 4:_

 _Amber and Blake Part 3: The Agreement_

 **AMBER**

Amber woke up sitting at a table. A man that seemed familiar sat across from her, waiting patiently. Jade was behind the man, leaning on the wall, wearing her hat and playing with her pistols, not ones that he had copied. "So you're up now," the man said immediately after Amber awoke.

"Do I...know you?" Amber asked. The man sat back in his chair. "I wouldn't be surprised if you have at least heard of me." Amber squinted at the man, trying to recognize him from whatever he was affiliated. After a while, Jade sighed in exasperation. "Amber, that's Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon. He's helped prevent the both of us from having to get involved with the authorities after our little skirmish."

"He is correct," Ozpin confirmed.

"Then why am I here?" Amber asked. Jade smirked. "It's because we're applying for Beacon, remember?" Amber scowled immediately after he said that. "No I'm not! That was just an excuse to get closer to my target, you idiot!" Ozpin looked back towards Jade. "Do you two need a few minutes alone?" Jade nodded. "That would help." The headmaster got up and offered his seat to Jade. The boy sat down, staring at the mercenary with a hopeful gaze. The headmaster exited the room, leaving the room to the two fighters. The two sat for a minute before Jade finally spoke.

"You didn't think that I already figured that out? You're did one botched up job of being a mercenary today."

"Shut up! I don't even know why I'm talking to you!"

"You do have a reason."

"And what is that?"

"Ozpin and I came up with some conditions that will prevent you from being taken into custody. You either have to accept them, or you're going to face quite a few years in containment." Amber was furious. Of course she had no choice in the matter. "Fine. What are they?" she asked.

"First of all, you have to give up your mercenary ways. Second of all, you are required to go to Bea-"

"Wait a minute! Why do I have to go to that stupid school?" Jade looked like he thought that she'd never ask. "Because I believe that there's some good in you, that you can use your skills to become a better person."

"...This is because of the Faunus, isn't it? She convinced you to make me do this."

"No. Speaking of which, third of all, you can't talk about Blake's secret to anyone, unless, of course, they already know about it."

"See? This is in favor of the Faunus."

"Will you just be quiet and stop being arrogant!" Jade yelled, startling Amber. Jade obviously wasn't being patient now. The two sat there for a few moments. "Do you want to know why I'm trying to get you into Beacon, even after all you've done, even though I could have just walked away and let you get arrested?" Jade finally said. Amber consider it a few seconds and nodded yes. "I'm doing all this because I see potential in you, because I know that you can be a great huntress, not just some mercenary. I think that you should give up this mercenary gig and use your skills to help the world. You were pretty amazing in that fight." Amber blushed. Jade smiled at this. "Plus, I bet that you can make a lot of friends."

"You aren't messing with me, are you?" Amber asked. Jade raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?" Amber looked to the ground. "It's just that all my life, nothing has gone right. My parents were killed when I was very young, and no one wanted me when I was at the orphanage. I've just wanted to be a normal girl with some friends, but it's been hard since I've had to take up mercenary work to make just enough money to care for myself."

"Well, I guess I'm here to change that," Jade said as he laid something on the table. It was a pendant, like the one that he had given to Blake earlier, except that it was orange with an amber gem instead of black with a dark gem. "That's yours. I'll spare you the whole legend thing since you already heard it, but this is a token of our friendship. Don't forget it," Jade said as he handed Amber her pistols and put her hat on her head. Amber smiled. "There's that smile that I've been waiting for," Jade said happily. "I know that you'll do well at Beacon. Let's go tell Ozpin." The fighter walked to the door and opened it for the headmaster waiting behind it. Jade smiled at him. "I think that we've made a decision..."

 ** _Profile_** :

 **Amber Blaine** -

Age: 17

Color: Orange (Amber)

Eye Color: Brown

Hair Color: Auburn, with an orange tint

Defining Clothing Item(s): Cowgirl Hat, Orange Pendant

Overall Theme: Cowgirl

Biography: After her parents were killed by members of the White Fang, Amber has been constantly seeking revenge against any Faunus she can find. She became a mercenary at a young age, working for various clients, especially ones who task her to hunt Faunus. She was recently hired by a mysterious "boss" to hunt Blake Belladonna, but has never actually met with this client in person. She has temporarily "quit" her job to train at Beacon Academy, both to train and because of the recommendation of Jade Loden, who prevented her from hunting the Faunus and still chose to become her friend.

Weapon: Hunter's Inferno-A duel pair of pistols that convert into knives simply by swinging them in a specific motion. Though they are small, the pistols deal a significant amount of damage. Amber designed them to take down her targets easily and efficiently.

Semblance: Focus- Amber is able to concentrate so much that time seems to slow for her. This allows her to aim better, shoot more accurately, and land many blows at once, allowing her to take down targets quickly. This is the main reason why she was a great mercenary.


	5. Chapter 5: Doli Part 1

_Chapter 5:_

 _Doli Part 1: Memories_

 **DOLI**

"Have I ever told you the story of our ancestor, Doli?" a young Jade asked his sister. A younger Doli giggled at him. "Of course I have. You love to tell me that one. Tell me it again, please?" Jade smiled. "All right. This ancestor fought in one of the many wars of long ago. Our family isn't proud of what he did, but he's my role model. His name was Aurico, the golden hero. He was the creator of our three family heirlooms, the Rainbow Gem, the Guardian Wings, and another which has been lost to history. The Rainbow Gem was created from fusing various kinds of Dust by putting extreme pressure upon them. The end result was a gem that had different powers depending on who holds it. Many people believe that it has to do with the balance of aura in each person. Aurico implemented it into his signature weapon, a naginata-rifle hybrid. The Guardian Wings were created in the opposite way, they were designed to push the wearer away from the earth so as to 'fly'. The last heirloom was lost long ago, but it has been said to create connections of some sort.

Due to the power of the items that he possessed, Aurico never took any clients as a hunter and would only fight during the occasional Grimm attack. Then the war against the humans and the Faunus occurred. Though he was human, of course, he wished to fight for the Faunus, for he believed that they were being mistreated. Though he was hated for this, he stood his ground throughout the war and was pardoned when the treaty was made with the Faunus-"

"-and he lived happily ever after!" the younger sister said cheerfully. Jade tried to hide the truth with a smile. "Yes...they do." That's how Doli remembered the story, secretly her favorite out of all the ones her brother told her as a kid, but she never knew the true ending until years later.

If there's one point in her life that Doli remembers, it's the week Jade left. She remembers the night he left the most and the day after, even after all these years. "You're not going to change my mind, you know," the fighter continuously told his younger sister as he packed. Doli was on the verge of tears. "But you don't have to do this!" she whimpered. She turned to their parents in the room. "Why are you letting him do this? It wasn't his fault!" Her parents tried not to look at their daughter. The girl sniffed. "Stop him! He doesn't need to go!" Doli couldn't convince any of them. Jade went to his room with a guilty look on his face. He left that night...as did Doli.

Jade was standing along a bridge the next night, his hood pulled over his head and his hands in his pockets. As he stood there, he saw a shadow in the water that wasn't his. In fact, it had a pair of large wings that were definitely not a bird's wings. Jade knew exactly what it was. He turned around and looked up at Doli hovering high above him. "You shouldn't be here, especially not in that armor," the fighter yelled to her.

"I'm, uh, borrowing it for a while," his sister replied.

"You're not going to convince me to go home. It was all my fault, and I need to train so that it never happens again."

"I didn't come here to talk you into returning..." Jade raised an eyebrow. "I came here to fight you." Jade was obviously confused by this. "Why would yo-!?" Jade didn't finish asking because a fire ball was flying right at him. As he rolled out of the way, Jade pulled a dagger with the Rainbow Gem on its hilt out of his hoodie. He pointed it at Doli's rod, the source of the projectile. "Please tell me you're joking, sis," Jade said in a worried tone. Doli stared blankly back at him. "You mean everything to me," she replied. "If I can't convince you to leave...then I'm going to force you!" Doli said, shaking. Jade stared back at his sister, obviously not wanting to fight. "Doli, stop this. You know that you won't win. Besides, I wouldn't want to hurt you." Amber only stared at him until tears started streaming down her face. She put her hands over her face and slowly hovered down toward her brother. Jade put away his blade and held his arms out, ready to embrace his sister.

What happened next was very sudden for Doli. The armor's lights flicked and she lost control of it. She started plummeting towards the water off the side of the bridge. Before she hit the water, Doli realized that her fall was being slowed. She was stopped just above the water hovering, even though her armor was not functioning correctly. She looked up at Jade. He had his hand stretched out, his eyes a brighter green than usual. He was using polarity to hold Doli up. She realized that Jade wouldn't be able to pull her up. He indeed needed training. _She_ needed training...and she wouldn't be able to do so if she drowned in a river. Doli called upon her semblance, her blue eyes now glowing gold. Jade's eyes glinted back at her. Doli could see the power rising within Jade. Now he could lift her up. Doli was growing closer and closer until she could reach out to him. Jade pulled his sister up and embraced her. Doli hugged him back, tears streaming down her face.

"Jade?"

"Yeah?"

"You should go to Signal." Jade smiled at his sister. "You're okay with it now?" he replied.

"Yes, under three conditions."

"...What are they?"

"First, you've gotta promise that you'll make some friends that you know will be there for you." Jade smiled at her. "Of course I will."

"Second, you've gotta promise me that you'll not tell Mom and Dad that I'm running away-"

"Wait, what? Don't you think that Mom and Dad have had enough loss for one we-"

"Jade," Doli said as she stared at him with pleading eyes, "I need as much training as you do, probably even more. I don't want to go training at some academy, not yet at least. Yes, I've considered all the possibilities, and it hasn't changed my mind, just like it hasn't changed yours." Doli knew that Jade saw the reasoning she had. "All right," he said. "What's the last condition?"

"Right...I want to see you again after your four years at Signal. I don't know how, but I want to."

"Why not this day, at some place in town. It'll be a while after I've returned, but it'll be easier. Come with me." Jade took his sister by the hand and brought her along to a road by the coast. As they walked, Jade pointed toward the ocean. "See where I'm pointing?" Doli followed where he was pointing and saw an island in the distance. She nodded in confirmation. "That's the island of Patch," Jade said, "where Signal is." They walked along the sidewalk until they came across a cafe overlooking the ocean. "This place is perfect," Jade said. The two went in. Jade treated them to some drinks, and they relaxed on a second floor balcony. Doli couldn't help but notice Jade's gloomy expression. "Jade, are you sure you want to go?" she asked, not sure of what answer she wanted to hear anymore.

"I do, but I can't help but think of something."

"And what would that be?"

"I've never told you told you the true ending of the tale of Aurico." Doli tried to hold in a smirk. "What do you mean?"

"There's another part to the story. Aurico had a sister, a lot like I do with you. Her name was Ariana. The reason why Aurico took a side in the war with the Faunus. You see, unlike Aurico, Ariana loved the idea of fighting for the good of others. After arguing about it with her brother many times on the topic, she left, becoming a huntress-for-hire. She thrived in the business, that is, until the Faunus War. After a huge misunderstanding, she was executed by the people she swore to protect. Enraged, Aurico sided with the Faunus and gave her a proper burial in an undisclosed location. He didn't fight in the war because he wanted to, Doli. He fought for revenge." Jade was obviously holding back tears now. "I guess I saw too much of Ariana in you."

"And Greyson?"

Jade slammed his fist onto the table. "How can you just say his name like that?" Doli looked at him with the most serious face she could muster. "Do you think think for one second that I don't feel horrible about what happened to our brother? I've gone through as much pain as you have. We both feel bad about it and want to do something about it. The best we can do is follow this path we've chosen."

The older brother stared at his sister, realizing that she indeed had a point. "You're right. We do need to follow these paths. I'll miss you, though." Doli smiled back. "I'll miss you, too."

And so they went their separate ways, Jade to Signal and Doli on her own path, searching for freelance hunters and huntresses that would be willing to teach her. They both thrived throughout their journeys. Most of all, they both remembered their promise to meet four years later, after Jade graduated from Signal...


End file.
